Getting to Know Us
by Caskett Hopeful
Summary: Alternate Universe - What is Johanna Beckett was not dead but had been forced in witness protection?
1. Chapter 1

1999.

Kate Beckett was alone. She was an orphan. Well … she was not literally an orphan but it was exactly what it felt like. Her mother had disappeared. Vanished into thin air. She never came to the restaurant Kate and her father were waiting at. When they finally decided to go home, she was not there either. Jim called her office, it would not be the first time she forgot to leave. She was not there either. Then he called her brother. He hadn't heard from her. Next he called her friends and colleagues. Nobody knew where she was. As he continued checking their phone book, he could see his daughter pacing around the coffee table, thinking hard. When it was clear that no one in their acquaintances knew where Johanna Beckett was, Kate decided it was time to call the police.

The police, right … She hated them with everything she had. How could they tell her father they couldn't do anything before 48 hours? Next time she saw a policeman, she would tell him what she thought of their protocol, that was for sure! She knew something was wrong, she could feel it! Her mother would never just disappear like that. Something must have happened to her. That was the only plausible explanation.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

2009.

Ten years. It had been ten years since her mother had disappeared. Simply vanished from the surface of the Earth.

Kate felt strange, sitting at her desk at the missing persons division of the 12th precinct. She felt like nothing had changed in those ten year, even if it wasn't true. In fact, a lot had happened in those two years.

Her father had turned into an alcoholic and lost his job. He was fine now though, working at the university library and sober for five years.

Kate herself had changed a lot in those ten years. Gone was the carefree and joyful Kate she was when it all happened. She had dropped out of college and joined the Police Academy, deciding if no one was doing anything to find her mother, she would do it herself. After a few years, she had let it go … tried to at least, realizing that it was eating her alive.

Now, she was more or less back to her old self, even if her job as the lead detective of the missing persons division was not always easy. Everyday, it brought her back to her mother. In a way, it fueled her. She never wanted anyone to suffer as much as she did. Not knowing was the worst that could happen. If you knew, good or bad, you could move on with your life. When you don't know, you can't.

At least that's what she thought before Richard Castle came into her life.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

2012.

Kate had never been so happy. She had everything she could have hoped for in her life. Well … almost everything. She had a wonderful family, great friends, a job that she loved, the perfect home to live in … everything was great.

She had been married for two years now. To Rick Castle of course. They had tiptoed around each other for two years before admitting how they felt. This weekend in the Hamptons would be forever burnt in her memory. The rest of the summer had be hard though. How are you supposed to go back on your own for two whole months after living so much with the love of your life for two days? They had managed though.

Many thought that their engagement and marriage was too quick – not even a year after getting together. But everyone who really knew them understood. You could see that they were in this for the long haul just by looking at them. Of course, their story fed the gossip papers. Well, at least until everyone saw that they were build to last and that the six months that the papers had predicted before a divorce (with Kate running away the the money) had been passed. They could not write infinitely about the happy Castle Couple. People wanted scandal, cheating and drugs … and they would definitely knot find that with them.

After a year-and-a-half marriage, the Castle clan grew bigger with the addition of its latest member: Emily Johanna Castle. Since then, Kate felt really complete and happy. Even the disappearance of her mother could not touch her happiness. Today, Emily was staying with grandpa though, because it was Alexis's birthday and Kate and Rick had planned a dinner for her.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

"Come on, you're not going to sulk for the entire evening!" Kate said as she opened the front door of the loft.

"She has a boyfriend Kate! A boyfriend! And she didn't even tell me!" Rick whined.

"She's a grown woman Rick, she can have a boyfriend. Plus, he is really nice … and good looking." she scolded gently, getting her shoes off.

"She's not a woman. She's my daughter. And since when do you think twenty-year-old guys are good looking?" he asked from the couch where he had dropped himself.

"I don't find them good looking. But I like him. He's nice and it's more than clear than he loves Alexis. They look really good together."

"Yeah well, I don't like him."

"Yes you do, and that's what's bothering you isn't it? He made you laugh at dinner. You talked about books, comics and video games with him. You can't find anything to hate in him and that's why you whined all the way back home. You think it's your duty as Alexis's father not to like her boyfriend."

"Since when can you read minds?" Rick asked, astonished by the way she voiced exactly what he had been thinking.

Kate plopped down next to him on the couch, put her feet on his lap and wriggled her toes, her way of asking for a massage.

"I know you Richard Castle. I don't need to read your mind. I know exactly how you work. I know what buttons to push. I know absolutely everything about you."

"When you say it like that, it's a bit scary to be honest. You sound like a crazy stalker fan." Rick laughed, rubbing her feet, his hands occasionally moving up under her dress.

"Well, I am a fan. The biggest fan you could ever have. And I'm crazy about you. But I'm definitely not a stalker. I don't need to, you're always with me anyway." Kate said, sliding one of her feet up and down his thigh sensually.

"You know what I just noticed?" Rick asked, stopping her before she reached where he knew she was headed.

"What is that mister Castle?" Kate inquired, getting on her knees to get closer to him.

"Neither of our daughters are here tonight. We have the whole to ourselves. No one but us." He answered, already lowering the zip of Kate's dress.

"That does not happen often." She said, kissing him on his neck, her hand busy unbuttoning his dress shirt.

"Great minds think alike." he simply said, pushing her down on the couch while getting rid of her dress.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

Kate slowly opened her eyes, quickly closing them again when she was hit by the sun. She groaned and turned around. She couldn't move, Rick was literally draped around her. She smiled when she remembered the night before. It had been a long time since they had a night like that. A whole night just the two of them, without any interruptions. They had quickly got submerged in their passion and the state of the loft showed it. They never made it to the bedroom. It all started on the couch, several times. Then the kitchen when Kate had wanted a drink. Then they moved on to Rick's office and somehow migrated back to the living room. Her eyes moved around and stopped on the DVD player. It read 11:00 am. Kate panicked when she saw that.

"Rick! Rick wake up! Now!" she almost shouted, trying to get him off of her. God that man was heavy. "Rick come on! My dad will be here in less than an hour with Emily!"

"And?" the writer asked in her neck, making her shiver.

"And we need to clean everything up! The loft looks like it's been hit by a tornado!"

"A delicious tornado."

"Yes, a wonderful tornado." Kate relented, kissing his shoulder softly. "Now, I'm sure you don't want my father to know all the delicious things you did to me last night, uh?"

"Definitely not!" Rick answered, suddenly awake and away from her. "Come on, chop chop, we've got approximately forty minutes to get ready and clean up everything."

That morning, records were certainly broken. When they heard the knock on the door, everything was in order. It was actually cleaner than before. Kate went to the door to welcome her father and her daughter. When she turned inside to give Emily to her husband, she was surprised to see that her father was still in the doorway.

"You're not coming in?" she asked.

"I have a surprise for you Katie." Jim said, looking both extremely happy and nervous.

"What is it?"

Jim went in the hallway and came back a few seconds later. Kate hardly heard the "Hello Katie" before everything went dark.


	2. Chapter 2

"Kate. Honey wake up, please."

She knew this voice. It was Rick's. He was putting a wet washcloth on her forehead. It was cold.

"Come on Kate. Come back to us." she heard him again.

He seemed concerned. She tried to open her eyes but they were too heavy. He had seen the movement though.

"Come on Kate, I know you can hear me. I saw you move. Come on."

After a few more seconds, she finally managed to open her eyes.

"That's it." Rick encouraged. "Your parents are worried, honey."

Right. Her parents. With an 's'. They were both here.

"So … that was real?" she asked slowly.

"It was real." Rick answered.

"What … what happened?" she asked, trying to sit on the bed where Rick had apparently carried her.

"You fainted. Your father caught you just before you hit the floor." Rick answered soothingly, trying to calm her down.

"And she … she's still here? She's really here?" she asked, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Yes she is. And she's kind of shocked too." he said, smiling.

After a few seconds lost in her thoughts, she got up and walked to the door. She stopped for a while, her hand hanging above the doorknob. That's when she heard them.

"She must hate me Jim. You should have told her before bringing me here. She must think I abandoned her or ..."

"Jo, stop! She cannot hate you. She was just shocked. She didn't expect to see you ever again. God, I didn't expect to see you ever again. She's strong. Stronger than you probably think. She's going to be fine. And she will not hate you." Jim said.

Kate took a deep breath and slowly turned the doorknob and opened the door. She was there. She was really there. In her living room. With her dad and her daughter. And apparently she had heard the door open because she turned around just as she was going to talk to her husband. She stopped short when she saw Kate in the doorway.

Kate took a tentative step forward, not sure her legs would be able to carry her much longer.

"Mom?" she whispered, more tears rolling down her cheeks.

The older woman seemed to fly to her daughter, taking her in her arms as soon as she was within reach, her own vision more than blurred by tears.

"Oh my God, you're here. You're really here. It's not a dream. You're really here." Kate kept repeating, crying on her mother's shoulder, her hands traveling on her back to be sure that she was physically present.

After an indefinite number of minutes, Emily started crying. She was clearly ready for lunch. Rick moved from the doorway – where he had witnessed his wife reunite with her long lost mother – to the car seat his daughter was still in. The two men and Emily moved to the kitchen while mother and daughter showed no sign of letting go of one another.

Kate had closed her eyes and hold her mother tight. Certainly too tight but she didn't care. She was thinking of all the times she had wished her mother was with her. When she had to check her father in a rehab center against his will. When she graduated from he Academy. When she made Detective. When her father got out of the center sober and never to drink a drop of alcohol ever again. When she first met Rick and could absolutely not stand him. How many times had she wished her mother was here so that she could whine about him and his crazy ideas! But most of all, she had missed her mother when she had taken the different steps of what she called "becoming a real woman": dating Rick, marrying Rick, having a baby with Rick.

In the kitchen, Emily produced a particularly loud burp, making Rick and Kim laugh.

"Wow. You're definitely too small to make such a noise Princess." Rick said, putting her empty bottle in the sink.

"You have a beautiful family Katie." her mother said, letting go of her and whipping the tears of her cheeks.

"I know. They are the best." Kate smiled, taking her mother's hand and guiding her to the kitchen. I seemed that she couldn't let go of her.

As soon as they entered the kitchen, Rick draped an arm around his wife's shoulders and whispered "Are you ok?" in her ear. Kate nodded, taking Emily from him.

"Hey Princess. Look who's here. It's Grandma. She is back Sweetie." Kate said, rocking her daughter in her arms.

"She is so beautiful Katie. And her eyes … they're so blue!" Johanna said, passing a finger on her granddaughter's cheek.

"Well, she has Daddy to thank for that." Kate smiled, looking at her husband.

Rick had never seen her like that before. Her eyes were shining more than usual, even if some tears managed to escape sometimes. She was beautiful, perfect. She had always looked perfect to him but he could see that the missing part for her complete happiness had come back. Of course, she was happy before, and he had seen the changes she he had met her but this was … more. She looked like she was finally complete. And nothing could make him happier.

"When did you come back?" Kate asked her mom.

"Late last night. I actually pulled your father from bed." Johanna laughed. "He didn't even tell me about Emily. Needless to say I was really surprised to hear an infant cry this morning!" she continued, glaring at Jim.

"Well, excuse me but I was otherwise engaged." he said, both of them blushing slightly.

It was good to see them like that. Like nothing had changed. Her parents had always seemed very much in love with each other. It used to embarrass teenage Kate but she secretly wanted be like them some day. To find the perfect partner. And she had.

"Ok, I'm gonna order in. What do you want for lunch?" Rick asked, looking for the menus in the drawer.

"Chinese." the three Becketts answered at the same time.

"Ok." Rick laughed. "I'm going to take a bit of everything and we share. But let me just tell you … that was scary."

* * *

_So ... what did you think of the reunion of the Beckett family?_

_Next chapter: the beginning of the explanations ...  
_


	3. Chapter 3

Lunch arrived and they all sat to eat, talking about everything and anything but avoiding the big question of why Johanna Beckett had disappeared for thirteen years. Kate wanted to know. She was dying to know, but she tried to restrain herself. She decided to let her mother get acclimated to everything before asking the questions. Looking up from her plate, she saw Rick looking at her. He seemed worried. She squeezed his knee under the table and smiled slightly. Truth was, she didn't want to smile. She wanted to curl into a ball and cry her eyes out. It was too much. Too many contrary feelings at the same time. She was happy that her mother was back with them, of course, but at the same time she felt less happy than the day before. It was as if having her back again had woken up all the fears and sadness that she had managed to get past these last few years with Rick. As always, he seemed to know what she was thinking. He took her hand under the table and caressed it. It calmed her instantly.

When they finished eating, Kate went upstairs to put Emily to bed for her nap. She liked these moments with her daughter. She spent at least ten minutes kissing her, caressing her, rocking her before putting her in bed. Then she spent five more minutes singing to her as she fell asleep. She was so beautiful. So innocent. Sometimes Kate wondered how she managed to create such a perfect human being. When Emily was asleep peacefully, she quietly got out of the room and closed the door behind her. Kate leaned against the wall and let herself slide down to the floor. She couldn't contain herself anymore. The tears wouldn't stop. She felt the sobs shake her but she couldn't do anything about it. It was as if she was trapped in her own body. And she knew this feeling all too well.

Downstairs, Rick was getting worried. He could see that Kate was not feeling good during lunch. She tried to put up a brave front but she didn't fool him. She had been gone for quite a while now and he was getting concerned. Of course, he knew that she liked to take her time with their daughter, as if to make up for the time she spent at work. But tonight, Rick was afraid that she would break down under the pressure. After a few more minutes, he couldn't take it anymore. He excused himself and went upstairs. When he turned the corner, he saw her. She was curled up on the floor, sobbing silently.

"Oh Kate!" he said, running to her. He pulled her into his arms and caressed her hair and her face gently. It usually calmed her down. It didn't seem to work though. Her breathing was getting labored and short. Panic attack. It had been a while since she had one.

"Jim! Paper bag!" he yelled, not caring if Emily woke up.

Her parents must have been in the kitchen because they came running in a few seconds. Jim handed Rick the paper bag to help his daughter breathe. Johanna was standing at the end of the hallway, a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide, shocked to see her daughter like that.

"Oh my God! I did this to her. I ..."

"Jo, stop. It's not your fault. She had some episodes like that before. She's just in shock. She needs some rest." Jim said.

"It is my fault. I show up and she faints. And now she's having a panic attack. It's all because of me!" Johanna said, crying.

"Not … your … fault." Kate managed to say through her paper bag.

"Don't talk, honey. Focus on breathing." Rick reprimanded her gently. "Come on, just breathe."

They all stayed silent for a while. Rick could feel that Kate was falling asleep. He picked her up and carried her to Alexis's room. He put her down on the bed and let her sleep. In the doorway, Jim and Johanna were looking worried.

"She's gonna be fine. She just needs to sleep for the moment. Jim, could you call my mother please? I think none of us are able to look after Emily right now. I need to call the precinct and Dr. Burk." Rick explained as Jim nodded.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

Rick had just come back from checking on Kate when the front door burst open.

"Dad! What happened? Is she ok? Where is she?" Alexis asked, running to her father.

"She's fine, don't worry. What are you doing here? Don't you have some classes today?"

"Not in the afternoon. I was at Gram's when Jim called. What happ … Oh." she said when she noticed Jim and Johanna making coffee in the kitchen. "Is that ..."

"Yes, it's her." Rick said. "She came back yesterday. Jim brought her when he came with Emily. Kate had a panic attack earlier but she's fine now. She's sleeping in your old room. Where is your grandmother?" Rick asked, finally noticing that Martha was not behind Alexis.

"Well, hum ..." she started, red getting to her cheeks. "I may have urged her to go quicker and she may be trying to talk th officer out of giving her a ticket." Alexis explained, looking at the floor.

"I know you were worried but she's fine." Rick said, taking her into his arms.

"Can I go see her?"

"Sure. But don't wake her up. She really needs to rest."

When Alexis was upstairs, Jim, Johanna and Rick moved to the living room. Just as they were about to sit, Martha came in.

"Hey kiddo! What happened?"

After explaining once more the events of the day, Rick made everybody sit. Alexis came back downstairs, looking relieved.

"Johanna, this is my mother, Martha Rodgers, and this is my daughter Alexis." Rick introduced them. "Mother, Alexis, this is Kate's mother."

"You have a wonderful daughter Johanna." Martha said, hugging the woman. "You don't mind me calling you Johanna, right?"

"Of course not." she smiled.

"It's just … I feel like I already know you. We learned a lot about you through Kate's and Jim's stories. Don't worry, they were always nice stories." Martha continued.

"She really is wonderful you know." Alexis said. "She the best mom I could have ever dreamed of. She's a better mom to me than my own mother. And she talked a lot about you. It was clear that she was sad that you were not here but she made sure we knew who you were and how close the two of you were."

"That's really nice Alexis, thank you. And I'm sure you are a good daughter to her too." Johanna answered.

"It's simply the truth. She's really extraordinary." Alexis continued. "She always here when you need her, even if she's busy with work. You can always count on her to give you the best advice or comfort you when something's wrong. You can be proud of her. Really. I can't imagine how happy she must be to have you back. Once she's past over the shock, she gonna be over the moon to have you here."

Shock. That was the main emotion after Alexis's speech. She had managed to voice everybody's thought effortlessly.

"You have a wonderful daughter Rick." Johanna said, trying to hold back the tears she felt were coming.

"I know." he simply answered, proud.

When Emily started to cry, Alexis got up to take care of her. She was really close to her baby sister, despite the nineteen years between them. She had always wanted siblings and now she had one. And she was sure she would have at least another one someday. When she reached her sister's bedroom, she saw that Kate was already there, changing her.

"Kate, you should be resting. Go back to bed, I'll change and dress her."

"I'm ok Alexis." Kate smiled. "A bit shocked but I'm ok. Don't worry about me. I just have to get used to the idea of having a mom again."

"How do you feel about that?"

"I don't know, and that's what is bothering me." Kate answered, sitting in the ricking chair in the corner of the room, Alexis sitting on the floor in front of her. "I should be happy. I am happy. Beyond happy even but … I don't know. I can't seem to be able to stop crying. When my dad brought her, I fainted. _I_ fainted! I've seen horrible scenes in my job Alexis, I've seen people die in front of me and I didn't faint then. Yet I do when I see my own mother? Something must be wrong with me."

"I think it would have been weird if you hadn't fainted." Alexis said.

"How so?"

"Well, the horrible scenes and the people dying … of course it's awful but they're not related to you. Your mother is. I think it would have been weird if you hadn't had any strong reaction. Of course you're happy to see her. It's even beyond the stage of happiness and that's why you have broken down. I thinks it's completely normal and healthy. If you had just acted like you were happy and everything went back to normal as soon as you'd have kissed her or hugged her, then you would have had a problem."

"Wow … I think these psychology classes you're taking are really working for you!" Kate said, really surprised by her step-daughter's analysis of the situation.

"Yeah? I really like what I learn." Alexis answered, blushing.

"It seems to be … your thing." Kate said.

"Really? Because … I kind of thought that becoming a psychiatrist would be good. I mean, there was an intervention last week at university and when Dr. Martin described her job it seemed really interesting. I know it's hard but at least you're useful to others, you know. I think it's what I want to do."

"Psychiatrists are really useful and helpful, believe me. "Kate said. "You'd be very good at it Alexis. I'm sure of it. I mean, you're always considerate of people, always trying to help. And I'm sure the 'study hard' part of it doesn't scare you one bit." she laughed. "Now come on, let's go back downstairs."

Kate put Emily – who had fallen back asleep after being changed – back in bed. She put an arm around Alexis's shoulders and went to join the rest of her family.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

Just before dinner, Dr. Burk showed up at the loft. Kate was thankful Rick had called him because she really needed him right now. He took Kate and her mother into Rick's office. First separately, then together. There was a lot of crying, a lot of hugging, and a good part of what Alexis had said earlier was repeated. After almost an hour, Dr. Burk was ready to pack his things.

"Don't forget what I said, ok? Just do what you feel like doing. Act on these feelings that can be overwhelming right now. If you want to cry, you cry. If you want to see each other in the middle of the night, just do it. You are not the same people as you were before you were separated. You need to talk everything out. It's gonna be hard, for both of you, but you have to get to know each other all over again. Kate, you have the week off, I'll call your captain. If you cannot sleep, take these," he said handing her a prescription. "I know you don't like medication but you really need to sleep. Oh, and look out for your father. He's taking the situation too well for the moment. He's going to break down at a time or another. You need to make sure he doesn't start to drink again."

"Of course, we'll watch him. Thank you doctor. I must say, I've never been a fan psychiatry but that was really helpful." Johann said, shaking his hand.

Once he had left the apartment, Kate joined Rick in the kitchen and hugged him tight, whispering "thank you" in his neck.


	4. Chapter 4

After dinner, Alexis went back to her dorm, Martha went back to her studio over her acting school and Kate's parents when back home, asking the couple to come and have lunch with them the following day. Once everyone was gone and everything was cleaned up, Rick noticed that Kate was standing in his office, looking aimlessly through the window. He joined her quietly, pressed her back into his chest and encircled her waist with his arms.

"Are you ok?" he simply asked.

"I don't know. It's strange. I'm mean to her, aren't I? She must think that I don't care that she's back. That I don't want her back but it's not true. I'm really happy she's back I just … I don't know how to express it. And when I think about it I ..."

"I know honey. But she doesn't think you're mean to her. She may not really understand your reactions but she will, don't worry. She completely understands that it's a shock for you to see her here."

"You know, I thought she was dead. I never said anything to anyone, let alone my dad, but I really thought she was dead. I'm a horrible daughter, aren't I? Who would want their mother to be dead?"

"Kate!" Rick exclaimed, turning her to face him."You did not want your mother to be dead. You thought she was. And frankly, I think that's a reasonable assumption after thirteen years without any news. It would have been more 'normal' in a way if she had been dead. But she is not. She is very much alive and she's here with you, with us. It's a miracle Kate. You just have to accept it for what it is. And you are not a horrible daughter." he said, trying to reason with her.

"I think I won't believe she's back in quite a while." she smiled. "I mean, we're going to see them tomorrow and until I can see her with my own eyes and touch her, I won't believe it's true. I need to know what happened." Kate said, trying to stay calm.

"Then you know what? When we get there tomorrow, you kiss her hello and you simply ask her where she had been and what happened for her to disappear on you like that. There must be a really good reason for it. She doesn't seem like a person who would abandon her husband and daughter just to go and see the world."

"She is not." Kate laughed, hugging him.

"You are both biting around the bush here. It was clear that you wanted to ask her today but you didn't. Probably because you wanted her to get back in her own life before annoying her with your questions. I'm sure she wanted to tell you everything but didn't want to burden you with too much at a time." Rick explained.

"You should open a practice with Alexis, the two of you are really good at reading and helping people." Kate said, kidding him lovingly. "Let's go to bed, tomorrow is going to be a long day." she continued, taking him by the hand and walking to their bedroom.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

After a night disturbed by several nightmares, Kate was getting ready to go to lunch at her parents'. Rick was taking care of Emily, knowing that his wife was preparing herself to meet her mother again.

He hadn't slept a lot the night before. Kate had had pretty bad nightmares. She didn't wake up for each of them but Rick had to pin her down several times not to be hit. His heart broke several times when he saw the expression of pain on her face and the fat tears rolling down her cheeks. When she had woken up in the morning, she didn't seem to remember any of it. And he didn't push.

When they left the house, they didn't talk. Kate seemed to be lost in her thoughts. During the car drive, they remained silent, Rick simply squeezing Kate's hand when her agitation showed in her bouncing leg. She froze when Rick drove up the driveway to her parents' house.

"It's gonna be fine Kate. I swear it was not a dream. She is really here and she's not leaving for a very long time." Rick reassured her, knowing what the issue was.

"Right, uh … can you take Emily? I don't think I'll be able to carry her when I see my mom."

"Don't worry about us." Rick said, kissing her cheek. "Come on Kate, go see your mom." he laughed.

She smiled at him before starting to the door. She seemed hesitant at first but as soon as she saw her mother open the door, she started running to her. She literally threw herself into her arms. It was definitely not a dream. She was there. She didn't disappear during the night.

"Hello Rick. How are you? I would welcome you but I seem to have a daughter attached to me." Johanna said, smiling.

"Don't worry, I know the feeling. This little is regularly attached to me." Rick answered, looking at his daughter.

Kate backed away from her mother, a huge smile on her face and happy tears in her eyes. Apparently she was staring to realize what was happening.

"Come on, let's go inside. We all have a lot to talk about." Johanna said, smiling at her daughter and leading the way inside the house.

They all settled in the living room, Jim hurrying to take his granddaughter from her father. Emily had all her entourage wrapped around her little finger but Grandpa Jim was probably the worst of them all. They started talking about the baby but Kate remained silent, looking at her mother.

"Katie, are you ok?" she asked, noticing her staring.

"What happened mom? Why did you leave?" Kate asked, tears coming back in her eyes.

She was so tired of crying all the time! But the question had finally been asked.

"I did not leave because I wanted to Katie, you have to believe me." Johanna started, waiting for her daughter to nod before continuing. "I was forced into witness protection because of one of the cases I was working on. I had already refused once but just before I left the office to meet you at the restaurant, something really bad happened. A woman who was also working on the case for an association for defense of human rights was murdered on her way home. They came and got me from my office, I didn't have time to react that they had already put me into a car and we left. When I realized what was happening, I asked them to turn around, to go back to you even if it was just to say goodbye. They refused, of course. They also refused to give me my cell phone to text you or even to give you a letter I would have written. They said if I contacted you in any way, you would be in danger. That convinced me … even if I don't think I ever cried so much in my entire life." Johanna explained, not bothering to retain her tears.

"What case were you working on? Why did they take you away?" Kate asked.

"I … I can't tell you yet. The process of tying everything up is not complete yet."

"And they let you come back! What were they thinking? You could still be a target!" Kate exclaimed, standing up from her chair, scaring her daughter who started to cry.

Rick took Emily and calmed her down while Johanna was explaining.

"I'm not Kate, I swear. Everything is done but you know how everything works, it takes some time to completely close it up. But don't worry I'm fine and I'm safe. And I'm never leaving you again. Neither of you." she stated firmly, taking both her husband's and her daughter's hands.

"Where did you go?" Rick asked after a few seconds.

Kate sat back down, closer to Rick who put an arm around her.

"They drove me to Canada." Johanna answered. "I was there for five years and then I moved back to the States. A small town near Boston. They found jobs for me everywhere I went and they had the back story ready."

"Were you alone all the time?" Kate asked.

"No. At one time they had a girl live with me. She was being protected because she had witnessed her mother's murder. I was glad to have someone with me but she reminded me too much of you Katie! She didn't stay long but I'm not sure I could have stood it much longer. It brought up too many memories."

"Why did you do with all the time on your hands?" Kate asked.

"I … uh … I wrote you letters. To both of you. Describing my days. It helped pass the time and feel closer to you. I have the letters. Do you want them?" Johanna asked.

Both Jim and Kate nodded enthusiastically. She got up and left the living room to get the letters. As soon as she was gone, Jim let his head drop in his hands and took a deep breath. Kate buried herself deeper into Rick's side. When she came back, Johanna put two very big bundles of letters on the coffee table.

"You don't have to read them if you don't want to. Just … they were meant for you so I thought you should have them. You can throw them away if you want to."

"Is there one for each month?" Rick asked, surprised by the amount of letters.

"One for each week." Johanna smiled at the writer. "Exactly 651 letters each. Plus special ones for birthdays."

Kate moved to take her pile and played with the string that was keeping them together. Jim didn't touch his. He was looking at it as if it could give him all the answers he was hoping for. The silence was broken by the timer of the oven going off. Johanna invited everyone to move to the dinning room while she took the food from the kitchen. When Kate followed to help her, she noticed that a lot of photographs had migrated there. Most of them being of her wedding with Rick.


	5. Chapter 5

During lunch, Rick noticed that the interactions between Kate and her mother were becoming more and more natural, going back to normal. He was happy for her, she finally seemed to accept the presence of her mother back in her life. Their life.

Once they were done eating, Johanna and Jim pushed the couple and their daughter to the garden, saying that they would join them when the put the dishes away.

"They are really cute together." Johanna said to her husband, looking through the kitchen window.

"She's really happy with him, that's for sure." Jim said, seeing the couple pretend to chase Emily around. The poor child was crawling as fast as she could, laughing all along. "Rick is really good for her. You should have seen her when he first started to follow her, I could have sworn she would kill him." he laughed picturing his daughter whining about her immature partner.

"I feel so bad having missed all of that!" Johanna sighed. "When I had to leave, Katie had had some boyfriends of course, but nothing serious. I missed my daughter's wedding, the birth of my first grandchild … I missed almost her whole life Jim. When I left she was a teenager and now she's a mother and a wife!"

"It's not your fault Jo. And you know, you could always ask them how everything went. I know for a fact that Rick loves to tell this story. And with Kate here you're sure to have the real version, not the overly romantic one he likes to tell everyone." Jim laughed.

"He's really something else, isn't he?"

"Oh he is. He is just what our Katie needed."

Outside, Emily had stopped crawling around and was now playing on the grass with some of her toys, her parents looking at her.

"How are you feeling?" Rick asked, pulling his wife close.

"Good. I think I'm finally realizing that she is here, you know. Maybe it's just knowing where she had been all these years. I don't now. But it's good to finally have a complete family. Before, I had her and not you. Then I had you and not her. Now I finally have both of you and a beautiful daughter. I honestly couldn't hope for anything more. I have absolutely everything I need." Kate said, smiling at him.

Before she had time to react, Rick was kissing her passionately. Too passionately considering they were in her parents' garden and shes knew that her mother must be spying form the kitchen window. She always had. But Kate didn't care for once. She was happy with Rick and she wanted her mother to know it. They separated when the need for oxygen forced them to, only to get back at it, Kate pulling him closer. Of course they had to be interrupted by her parents. Strangely enough, it felt normal though.

"Come on lovebirds, come here and talk to me about your story. I want to know everything." Johanna called them, waving their wedding album.

They walked hand in hand to the table where Jim had placed the cups of coffee and sat in a way to be able to look after their daughter who was playing with the grass.

"So, how long have you two been married?" Johanna asked, smiling at the couple.

"Two years, one month and thirteen days." Rick answered immediately.

"Wow, that's precise." Johanna laughed. "And how did everything start between the two of you?"

"Well he started following me at work about four years ago." Kate said, smiling at the memory. " You know, he writes murder books and we had a victim who disappeared exactly the way he had written it in one of his novels. So I went to find him and brought him in for questioning and well … he never left after that. He managed to convince my Captain that he needed to do research and so he had to follow me. Needless to say that I did not like the idea, let alone being forced to have him with me all the time. He was so annoying! He just couldn't stop talking, he was always touching things. He even stole evidence to investigate on his own more than once, just to make me feel stupid."

"Hey, it was not to make you feel or look stupid at all!" Rick interjected. "You just didn't give credit to anything I was saying, I needed you to know that I was not there just to annoy you, that I could be useful too."

"Yeah well ... I did nit get that. At the beginning at least."

"And how long did it take you to get closer?" Johanna asked.

"We gt closer progressively I guess. I didn't really see it coming. We started dating about two years ago." Kate said.

"What? Wait, you started dating AND got married two years ago?" Johanna said, clearly confused.

"Yes. We started dating at the end of June, I proposed at Christmas and we got married on April 20th." Rick answered.

"Why was it so quick?"

"Well, we didn't want to wait any more and waste more time. Waiting another year or two would not have changed anything so why wait?" Kate explained. "A lot of people were surprised, but we don't regret it. We'll never regret it." she continued, taking Rick's hand.

"As long as you're happy, that's all that matters." Johanna smiled. "So Rick, how did you propose?"

Kate couldn't help but laugh. Her mother was definitely still the same. Always wanting to know everything about everything. But this was a good story and you could see it in his eyes that Rick loved to tell it.

"Well, there is a tradition in the Castle household for Christmas: you have to deserve your presents." Rick explained, excited to introduce someone new to his tradition. "So we were in the Hamptons and we were ready to go hunting and ..."

"Hunting?" Johanna asked.

"The famous Castle Christmas Present Hunt mom." Kate laughed.

"Yeah, so, we were getting ready to go hunting but Alexis got sick. Probably something she ate. Anyway. She knew what I had planned for Kate so she insisted we went without her, but your daughter, stubborn as she is, refused to leave her side. When my mother arrived, I finally managed to get her out of the house and gave her the treasure map. Being the awesome detective that she is, she found all the clues I had left around the house. When she came back to the house for the last one, I was waiting for her, on one knee, in front of the Christmas tree."

"Oh, that's so sweet!" Johanna said, a large smile on her face.

"Yeah, I thought so too." Kate smiled. "It was the best Christmas ever. Ad really unexpected too. We hadn't talked about marriage at all. But when I saw him there, with an open ring box in his hands, it all became very clear. This was what I wanted more than anything else." she continued, kissing him lovingly.

"And you got married four months later? Wasn't that too short to plan everything?" Johanna asked.

"We didn't want a big wedding so the preparations were pretty quick. All we needed was his tux and my dress." Kate explained. "Martha and Alexis were wonderful wedding planners. They took care of everything while I was at work. They were really great. They even helped me find my dress." Kate smiled at the memory of dress shopping.

"It was really beautiful Katie." Johanna said, looking at the wedding photos in the album. "You were really handsome too Richard."

"Thanks. But I don't think anyone would have noticed if I had been wearing shorts and flips flops." he laughed. "She was so gorgeous, people couldn't take their eyes off her. And she looked so happy!"

" Of course I was happy, it was our wedding day." Kate said, smiling at him.

"Well, it's not always the case. I've been married twice before," he told Johanna, "but your daughter is the last one, I swear." he added when he realized how it must have sounded. "Anyway, none of my ex-wives looked really happy on their wedding days. Meredith spent her time complaining about how fat she was and telling everyone it was my fault if she didn't look good on her bid day. She was pregnant with Alexis for crying out loud, she was not fat! When I married Gina, I felt mote like a guest than the groom. She was completely ignoring me. It was all business for her. With Kate, it was completely different. It was real. She was the one that everyone was looking at – which is perfectly understandable – but she was there with me. With my family and our friends. She did not threatened anyone with their lives when the musicians had to cancel the day before because half of them were sick. She did not turn into a monster when the reception started. She simply enjoyed her day."

"Our day." Kate corrected.

"You two are so cute!" Johanna said, tears gathering in her eyes. I feel so bad having missed all of that. I can't believe I missed my Katie's wedding."

"You did not miss it mom. You were there with us." Kate said, turning the pages of the album.

She stopped when she reached the group and family pictures. Johanna froze when she saw that she was indeed on all the pictures. On each of them, Jim was carrying a frame with her picture in it.

"It was Rick's idea. A way to have you with us on our big day." Kate smiled.

Johanna left her chair and went to hug Rick really tight, surprising him.

"Thank you so much for taking care of my little girl." she whispered in his ear.

"The pleasure's all mine." he simply answered.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

"He is very good with her." Johanna said to Kate, looking at Rick playing with Emily, both of them rolling around in the grass.

"He is the best." Kate smiled. "And he is the one doing the laundry next time."

Johanna looked at her daughter. She was watching her husband and her daughter play together and she looked happy. Really happy. Johanna had never seen the expression she had in her eyes before.

"You really love him." Johanna stated, still looking at Kate.

"Yes, I do. He's the best, mom. My one and done. I'm never letting him go. Ever. It took me a long time to find him, but it was so worth it." she smiled. "You know, he was supposed to leave for a three-week book tour this week, but he managed to push it back to stay with me. He said he wouldn't let me alone with everything that's going on."

"Well, he certainly sounds like the perfect man." Johanna said, picking up Emily who had crawled to her.

"He is. And he is mine." Kate said, getting up from her chair and going to kiss him.

* * *

_So, what do you think?_

_I'd love to hear from you guys !  
_


	6. Chapter 6

The week passed pretty quickly and Johanna and Kate were getting closer. They were little by little learning about each other all over again and they were almost back to what they had before Johanna had to leave. They were often having lunch or coffee together but they were not spending all their time together. Both had agreed that they needed to go on with their own lives and not stop living. They were aware that they would not be able to have the time they were apart back, so they just decided to talk about anything they wanted when they were together. Kate had read all the letters her mother had written to her when she was gone. It took her two whole days and half a night to read all of them but it had helped her a lot. It helped her understand her mother, why she had to leave and that it affected her deeply too. She had cried a lot when reading them. Rick had even threatened to take them away if she did not stop reading and get some sleep. But it was good. It sped up the process of accepting her mother into her life.

It was now Friday and Kate was coming back home after have been grocery shopping. She was surprised to find her mother waiting in the hallway, sitting against the front door.

"Mom? What are you doing here? Is everything alright?" Kate asked, suddenly concerned.

"Everything's fine Katie, don't worry." Johanna answered, getting back on her feet and taking a few shopping bags from her daughter. "I just need to ask you about something."

"Sure. Let me just put this away and I'm all yours." Kate smiled, opening the front door and heading to the kitchen.

"Nobody's home?" Johanna asked, used to seeing Rick and Emily and Alexis or Martha the few times she had been at the loft.

"No. Rick took Emily to Martha's while he was at a meeting with his publisher and I think they're going to the park when he is done." Kate answered, putting away the food she had bought. "Would you like some coffee?"

"Katherine Castle, what kind of question is that? Of course I'd like some coffee." Johanna laughed.

Kate hurried to tidy the kitchen while coffee was brewing.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" she asked, putting a fuming cup of coffee in front of her mother.

"Well, I tried to talk to your father about it but he won't tell me anything."

"Mom, what's going on?"

"Well, after you, Rick and Emily left the other day, I remembered what Dr. Burke said on the day I came here for the first time. He said you had to watch out for your father and be careful he didn't start to drink again. What happened to him Kate? He doesn't want to tell me anything. Every time I bring up the subject, he leaves the house, saying that he needs to go and see Charlie. Who is this Charlie? Did he meet someone when I was gone?"

"He didn't meet anyone Mom, not that I know of anyway. Charlie is his sponsor."

"Sponsor? As in ..."

"Yeah. An AA sponsor. You know, when you disappeared, it was hard for everyone. I buried myself into becoming a cop so I could find you. Dad started to drink. A lot. I don't really know how it started but I was called a few times after I graduated from the Academy to go and pick him up from a bar because he was passed out."

"Oh my God. And you had to deal with him alone? I'm so sorry Katie."

"You remember what we said? You stop apologizing. It was not your fault. Yes, a lot of bad things happened after you disappeared but is was not your fault. You did not choose to leave. Are we clear?" Kate asked, using her best detective voice.

"We're clear." Johanna said. "I would not like to be a suspect in one of your investigations. You get pretty scary when you talk like that." she laughed. "So, how did you deal with your father.

"At first I didn't do anything. I thought it would pass, you know? I thought when he accepted the fact that you were gone, he would stop. Of course, he didn't. It only got worse. If I had done something from the start he would have been ok but … but I waited. I confronted him one night after I picked him up from a police station. He promised me he would go to AA meetings. I don't know if he even went once. I was struggling to keep going, I felt like he had just given up and I couldn't bear to see him like that. I'm not proud of it but I almost didn't see him for two years. And one day he showed up at my apartment, telling me that he had stopped drinking, that he had been going to AA meetings twice a week and that wanted me back. All went well for a while and then he lost his job and started drinking again. One day at work, the hospital called me. He had been found unconscious in an alley behind a bar during the night. He was in a coma for a week. It was horrible. All I wanted to do was leave him there and never see him again but I just couldn't do it. I couldn't lose the only parent I had left so I convinced the doctors to declare him unable to take medical decisions and give me the right to decide for him. When he woke up and they told him he couldn't decide, that I was the one in charge, he was furious. I had him committed in a rehab center where he couldn't go out at all. After he had been settled there for a week, I went to see him. It did not go well. We both said horrible things to each other but I left him there. I wrote him a letter and he called me about a month letter, telling me he would do it, that he couldn't lose me too … Anyway, when he left the center, he came to see me and swore that he would never drink again. I told him I couldn't trust him anymore and that he would have to prove himself to me. He started looking for a job and went back to AA meetings. After a while, he found a job at the university library and started to help organizing the AA meetings. For the following Christmas, he gave me his '1 year' token. He didn't drink ever again. I guess he needs to go and see Charlie again because it's a trying time right now. He will talk to you when he's ready. That's what he did with me. Just give him time to adapt to the situation."

At the end of Kate's story, both women were in tears, a box of tissues sitting between them on the counter.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

When Rick came home with Emily a couple of hours later, he found his wife and his mother-in-law asleep on the couch, Temptation Lane playing on the TV. He put his daughter to bed for her nap and went back downstairs, starting the coffee machine. Kate must have heard him come home because she appeared next to him in the kitchen.

"How was your meeting?" she asked, rubbing her eyes to get rid of the sleep in them.

"Boring, as usual. How about you? Why is your mother here?"

"She came to talk about dad and his drinking. Needless to say it was a very emotional conversation." Kate sighed, going to bury herself in her husband's arms.

What started as light kisses to reassure her quickly moved to very passionate ones. Kate found herself pushed on the counter, Rick's hands traveling up her thighs and down her back, trying desperately to reach some uncovered skin. He lost all kind of control when he felt her hands playing with the hair at the back of his head and her lips kissing him behind his right ear. That was his weak spot and she knew it. She was driving him crazy. He opened her shirt, one button after the other, taking his time to kiss every newly uncovered spot of skin on his way up. When he reached the valley between her breasts, she moaned and brought him closer, grabbing his ass and pulling him to her.

They were so taken up in each other that they completely forgot Johanna was sleeping on the couch. She woke up at the sound of a cupboard slamming shut. She looked over the top of the couch and immediately closed her eyes. She was really happy to know that Rick and her daughter were so in love but she definitely did not need to see _that_ ! She gathered her things quietly, left a quick note on the coffee table and left as quickly as possible. Taking care to close the front door of the loft without a sound, she turned around to find Alexis looking at her strangely.

"Uh … you might want to wait for a while before going in there. They're … uh … busy. Hey, would you like to go get coffee or something? Talk for a bit?" Johanna proposed.

"Sure, why not." Alexis answered.

Johanna was relieved. She was not at ease seeing her daughter like that, and she couldn't imagine what it would be like to walk in on your parents!


	7. Chapter 7

Kate was back at work. She had been for a couple of days now and it felt good to be back to normal. After a very embarrassing phone call to her mother on Friday night, the weekend had gone by smoothly and quickly. When she went back to work on Monday, she really felt like her life was now complete. She had absolutely all she needed. Unfortunately, she also had an enormous stack of paperwork piled on her desk. After a short visit to Captain Gates's office, she sat at her desk. The first thing she did was change the photo in the frame that sat next to her computer. She took the one of Rick and Emily out and replaced it with one of her mother carrying her granddaughter.

It was now Wednesday and Kate and her team had just closed another case. They were all doing paperwork – they definitely did not advertise this part on the recruiting brochures! - when her desk phone rang. It was the officer from the lobby, telling her that someone was looking for her. She told him to send them up and waited, continuing with her paperwork. When she heard the elevator open, she looked up from her desk. She was really surprised when she saw her mother get out and look around, looking for her. She got up and went to meet her.

"Mom. What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Hello Katie. I'm not bothering you, am I? I just wanted to know where you worked and since I was in the neighborhood, I thought I'd just stop by. I can come back later if you're busy." Johanna said.

"No, I'm not busy. I'm just surprised to see you here that's all. We just closed a case so we're doing paperwork. Boring. Come, I'll introduce you to my team. You can go to the break room over there, I'll go and get them." Kate said, pointing to the break room.

She went back into the bullpen and headed to Ryan's and Esposito's desks.

"Boys, leave the paperwork for a minute. I have someone I want you to meet." she said, smiling.

They had not asked her why she was not at work the week before and she hadn't had time to explain the situation to them. Never missing an occasion to get away paperwork though, the two detectives followed her quickly. They all went into the break room where Johanna was sitting on the couch.

"Guys, I want you to meet my mother, Johanna Beckett. Mom, these are Detectives Kevin Ryan and Javier Esposito." Kate introduced them.

While Johanna was shaking hands with the two, the latter didn't know how to react.

"Uh … Beckett... Wasn't your mother supposed to be ..." Esposito tried.

"Yes, she was. But she came back. The weekend before last. That's why I was not in last week. I kinda freaked out." Kate explained.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you Ma'am." Ryan said, smiling at Johanna.

"Why do they call you Beckett." she asked her daughter.

"Well, I started here long before marrying Rick so I guess it's mostly out of habits. Also, I kept my maiden nae at work, it's easier and less confusing. When Rick is here with us and we have to interrogate a suspect, 'Hello I'm Detective Castle and this is Richard Castle' would be just weird." Kate said.

"Is he here often?"

"Before Emily was born, he was here everyday. You would have thought he worked here!" Esposito laughed.

During their conversation, they hadn't noticed Gates approaching.

"What is going here? Don't you have work to do Detectives?" she asked, making all of them jump.

"Sir, let me explain. This is my mother, Joha ..." Kate started.

"Johanna Parker! Is that you?" Gates asked, clearly shocked.

"It's Beckett now but yes, it's me." Johanna laughed, going to hug the Captain.

The three detectives looked at the scene, really confused.

"Mom, care to explained?"

"Well, Victoria and I were roommates at university. We lived together for four years. These were good years." Johanna smiled. "Are you still in touch with Samuel?"

"Yes I am. We've been married for thirty-three years." Gates laughed. "Come in my office, we have a lot to talk about."

The two women moved to Gates's office, leaving the three detectives in the break room.

"What just happened?" Kate asked, still not moving and shock clear on her face.

"Well, apparently your mother and Iron Gates are good friends. Imagine … she'll go to your house, talk with your parents. Soon she'll be part of your family and you'll call her Auntie Vicky!" Esposito laughed, going back to his desk.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

When Kate went home after a day of paperwork and revelations, she was pleased to find Rick feeding Emily on the couch. She put her things in the closet by the front door and went to sit by them. She snuggled into Rick's side and caressed her daughter's head.

"How was your day?" Rick asked quietly not to disturb Emily who was getting sleepy.

"Boring. Just paperwork. But it was also interesting."

"How so?"

"Well, my mother dropped by at the precinct this morning. She wanted to see where I work. Anyway, I was introducing her to Ryan and Espo when Gates walked in the break room."

"Ouch!"

"No, that's what's weird. They knew each other. Apparently they were roommates when they were at university. They went to Gates's office and spent all the morning there. They went together for lunch and I didn't see any of them this afternoon." Kate explain, thoughtful.

"What do you think they were talking about?" Rick asked.

"I don't know, and that's what's scaring me. At first they were laughing and smiling a lot so I supposed they were talking about the good old times. But after a while, their faces got much more serious. I remember Mom having that look on her face when she was working on a particularly hard case."

"Maybe they were talking about the case that put her into witness protection." Rick suggested.

"I'll meet her for lunch tomorrow so maybe she'll tell me. I really wished she could tell me about this case. I feel like it's the only thing missing for me to really understand everything that is going on. I really don't understand why they let her come back if everything is not completely done yet. I just want her to be safe." Kate sighed.

"She is safe Kate. They're professional, they know what they are doing. If they let her come back, it's because she is not in any danger anymore." Rick told her, kissing her forehead.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

When Kate walked into Remy's the following day, her mother was already waiting in a booth. She greeted her mother and sat opposite her.

"What can I get you Detective Beckett? Oh, you didn't bring Little Cutie today ..." the waitress said, walking to them.

"No, sorry Diane. She's staying with daddy today. And I'll take the usual, thank you."

Johanna placed her order and turned back to Kate.

"I see that Emily is quite famous around here." she laughed.

"She is." Kate smiled. "Honestly, who can resist her? She is just so cute and perfect!"

They talked about everything and anything until Diane came back with their food.

"I couldn't help but notice that you were not particularly pleased that I know Victoria." Johanna started. "Is there a problem?"

"No, not really. It's just … well … she's my boss and it's weird. I don't really like the idea of mixing my professional life with my private life."Kate explained.

"I know but she was … is a very good friend of mine."

"I know. And I respect that, don't worry. It's just that it's weird. And she's not the nicest of Captains so … I don't know. What did you talk about?"

"We talked about our time together at university, brought up some old memories. "Johanna smiled. "And we talked about you."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Apparently your story is pretty famous around the NYPD. Now let me ask you a question. Do you like your job Kate?" Johanna asked seriously.

"What? Of course I like my job. I love it. Why do you ask?"

"Well, according to what Vicky told me, you decided to become a cop so you'd be able to find me. Is that true?"

"Yes, it's true." Kate answered, pushing her food around her plate. "But it was a good choice. I've never regretted it. I feel really useful doing what I do. Sure, it started mostly to find you but it's not the case anymore. Well, I still don't wish anyone to have a loved one disappear but I feel like if I can bring them back the person, or at least closure, then my job is done."

"When I had to leave, you were studying law at Stanford. Why didn't you continue?"

"I went back after you disappeared. But I didn't stay long. I just couldn't live on the other side of the country knowing that no one was looking for you. When I came back, I started looking for you but I didn't have access to anything. I figured the on;y way I could really make a difference was if I became a cop. So I joined the Academy about three month after you disappeared. I think I also wanted to prove the policemen who told me they couldn't do anything wrong. Well, my quest for finding you obviously failed because I never had the slightest lead on your case. I never really gave up but as time went by it became less important. I felt horrible but I figured that wherever you may be, you wouldn't want me to waste my life looking for you. But in a way, every time I closed a case, I felt like I was getting closer to you." Kate explained.

"You changed the course of your life for me Katie. You didn't have to do that!" Johanna said, taking her daughter's hands.

"I didn't have a choice mom, it was stronger than me. But it's a good thing. If I hadn't been a cop, I may never had met Rick. I can't imagine what my life would have been like without him and Emily. I don't even want to imagine a life like that."

"So you don't regret your choice?"

"Never have, never will. And now you're here so it's perfect. I don't want you to feel guilty for me not becoming the first female Chief Justice. I love my life as it is and I wouldn't change it for the world."

"Ok, I'm glad you're happy with your choices." Johanna said, smiling sweetly at her daughter.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course. What is it?"

"I saw you and Gates talking seriously this morning when you were in her office. What was it about? You had that I-have-a-big-problem-and-I-cannot-solve-it look on your face."

"It was about the case. The one I had to be protected from. The trial is the day after tomorrow and I wanted to have her opinion on a few things."

"Can you tell me about it?Please, I'd really like to know and understand what started all of this." Kate almost begged.

Johanna seemed to hesitate but nodded after a while. She asked for a bill and paid for their lunch.

"Let's go home. There are too many ears here."


	8. Chapter 8

After a call to Captain Gates to explain the situation, Johanna and Kate headed to the Beckett house. Johanna left Kate in the living room while she changed. When someone knocked at the door, Kate was surprised to find Rick on the other side.

"Hey! What are you doing here?" she asked, letting him in.

"I don't know. Your mother called me and old me to come. She said she had important things to explain."

"Where is Emily?"

"I left her at my mother's. I think they were going shopping." Rick laughed.

"Oh, you're here. Good. Let's move to the living room. Would you like something to drink?" Johanna asked when she reappeared.

Once they were all settled, she began to explain.

"Did you hear about the arrest of Senator Richardson?" she asked, waiting for them to nod before continuing. "He was arrested for human trafficking, involvement with the mafia, and several murders. Of course he didn't do anything himself but it was proven to be the head of the organization that killed five people in 1996. I was working for the family of one of the victims. The more I went on with the case, the more complex it became. At first, when I got the case, it was just another murder case so to speak. But little by little I uncovered kidnappings, prostitution, drugs … that's when we linked the different cases of the five victims. They were all members of the same gym club. It was just a cover to their trafficking. They lured people in to do their dirty work. And when they refused, they killed them in a way that looked like an accident. But they were getting bolder and left prints on the victims. That's how we linked the five victims of 1996. From then on, we found similarities between them and discovered the organization. We didn't know who was at the head of course, but the higher we got in the hierarchy, the more we became targets. It started with small incidents like threatening letters or lashed tires. When Allison Gray, the woman working for the human rights association, was murdered, we learned the FBI had been investigating the case for a while in secret. They were the one who forced me to go."

"Were you the only one to go into witness protection?" Kate asked.

"No, there was also Kelly White and Thomas Johnson. The three of us worked on the case. I don't know what happened to them or if they came back. I suppose I'll see them on Friday."

"Why on Friday?" Rick asked.

"It's the day of the trial. All the intermediaries have already been tried but this is the big one. Senator Richardson will not be able to use his diplomatic immunity."

"Why?" Kate asked, confused.

"They didn't really explain but they said they found one aspect that will enable them to convict him no matter what. But I still find it weird that he did not resist arrest when they went to get him." Johanna explained.

"Will you have to testify?" Kate asked.

"Yes. And that's one of the things I wanted to talk to you about. I have to leave town tonight?" Johanna said.

"What? Why?How?" Kate asked, starting to panic at the idea of her mother leaving again. The last time she left, she didn't coma back for thirteen years.

"Kate, honey, calm down. It's just a safety measure until the beginning of the trial and for as long as it will last. But I will not be alone, your father is coming with me. And I will be able to call you. I'm even negotiating for you to be able to come and visit on the weekends." Johanna reassured her.

"Ok." Kate simply answered, trying to breathe normally while Rick was caressing her back, both of the feeling the start of a panic attack.

"I also talked with Vicky and she agreed to give you some time off for the duration of the trial. You don't have to come to the courthouse if you don't want to, or if you feel it's too much, but you'll have the time off anyway? We both thought it would be best for you."

"Yeah. I think I couldn't focus on anything else." Kate said, surprising both Rick and Johanna. She was not known for giving up work without a fight.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

The nights before the beginning of the trial, Kate did not sleep well and had trouble hiding her anxiety during the day. She was scared that because her mother will have to testify, she would be targeted or would leave again. To help her relax, Rick had planned a surprise romantic evening for the both of them, Martha being delighted to have Emily for the night.

Kate came back from the precinct on Thursday night, ready to start her time off – which she had already planned to spend at the courthouse.. When she entered the loft, Rick was dressing the table.

"Rick, what's going on?" she asked, walking tentatively to him. "Are you waiting for your mistress?" she smiled.

"You're all the mistress I need and you know it." Rick said, kissing her lovingly. "That being said, you have horrible timing. You're never this early to come home and you choose today! I'm not ready." he almost whined.

"Ready for what?"

"For our relaxy romantic night."

"Uh, I like the sound of that." Kate sighed, hugging her husband and closing her eyes.

"Well, go change while I finish here. Put your pajamas on." Rick said, pushing her to their bedroom.

"My pajamas? It's not really romantic ..." she remarked.

"I said it was a _relaxy_ romantic night. You can't be more relaxed than when you're in your pajamas." Rick told her before closing the door of their bedroom.

When she came back to the living room, her make up gone and her hair in a messy bun, she found Rick waiting for her on the couch, a glass of wine in each hand, dressed in his pajamas. How did he get them without going in the bedroom?

"I took them out of the dryer." Rick said, answering her silent question.

"Why did you do all of that?" Kate asked quietly, taking everything in before going to sit by his side and taking the glass he was handing her.

"Well, you had a stressful month with your mother coming back, and I suppose the next few weeks will not be very relaxing so I thought tonight was perfect for relaxing and taking care of you." he explained.

"It sounds perfect." Kate said, kissing him on the cheek. "So, what did you plan, except for spending the evening in our pajamas?"

"Well, first there is cuddling on the couch with a good glass of wine, then a romantic diner I spent all afternoon cooking, then bubble bath, massage and sleeping."

"Sleeping? Really Rick?" Kate asked, smiling suggestively.

"I'll have you know, Mrs Castle, that I give the most relaxing massages in the whole … family. And I bet you anything you want that you'll fall asleep."

"Well, we could always play in the tub." she laughed.

The whole evening went exactly how Richard had planned. He disappeared several times to go and prepare the next stage of the evening: drawing the bath and adding the bubbles, leaving the tub before Kate so that he could go and light the scented candles he had put around their bed and prepare the massage oil.

Just as he had planned, Kate fell asleep during the massage but he didn't stop when he noticed. She was really tensed. She had knots between her shoulder blades and all along her spine. When he thought she was relaxed enough, he moved back from her and started to blow the candles. He stopped in his tracks to look at her. She was just gorgeous. She was lying naked on their bed, her hair spilling beside her. He just couldn't get enough of her.

* * *

_So ... What do you think? _

_Only one chapter left ...  
_


	9. Chapter 9

Everyone knew that Richard Castle throws terrific parties. What they didn't know was all the work needed for the preparations. Kate had been initiated. Today it was her mother's turn. Rick had decided to throw a big party for Emily's first birthday and Johanna had insisted to help. She was now regretting it. Well, Kate's excuse was plausible: "I can't Rick. I have to finish all the paperwork before we leave for the Hamptons for a month. I'm already really lucky to have a whole month off of work." Jim's had been much less credible: "I have to go to the cabin that week, it's the only moment you can fish salmons in the river there, I just can't miss it. But don't worry, I'll be there for the party." Strangely enough, he hadn't got any. After two days of preparations, Johanna thought she might learn how to fish. It is really important in a couple to share some activities after all.

The day of the party, Kate managed to leave the precinct at lunchtime and decided to go home. Half a day of preparations wouldn't kill her, and it was for her daughter after all. When she entered the loft, she could hear voices coming form the kitchen. She went to her bedroom to change from her work clothes and joined Rick and her mother who were preparing sandwiches for lunch, Emily playing with a ball on the floor. She stayed in the doorway for a moment, observing them. They both had their backs turned to her.

She had always thought they would get along just fine but … it was more than that. When they were together they laughed, they talked about books, they shared Kate stories … They didn't really had time to get to know each other before the trial. On one of the weekends the Castles went to the safe house where Jim and Johanna were staying during the time of the trial, Kate and her father went for a walk around the village and Rick stayed with Johanna and Emily. When they came back, father and daughter found them changed. Kate didn't know what happened or what they talked about – both of them always refused to tell her – but they seemed really closer.

She was brought out of her thoughts when she felt something tugging at her ants leg. She looked down and found her daughter smiling at her.

"Hey birthday girl! How does it feel to be one?" Kate asked, picking her up and walking in the kitchen.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

The party was going on full swing, Emily being passed from arms to arms, kissed by everyone. She was in her element. Everyone was looking at her and taking care of her and she absolutely loved it, giving everyone her most beautiful two-teeth smile. She was really her father's daughter. However, no matter with whom she was, Emily seemed to find her way back to Johanna's arms. The two of them had grown really close since she had come back. Kate couldn't help but tear up a little when she saw the two of them together. She may have grown up without a mother but her daughter will have her grandmother. She would never leave again. And no one will target her ever again.

The trial had ended a month before – after three months – and the senator had been sentenced to sixty years in prison without parole for different charges. Since he was 67, he would never hurt anyone again.

Kate's family was complete now and everyone was here that night for her daughter: Rick and herself of course, Martha and Alexis, Jim and Johanna, Ryan and Jenny and Esposito and Lanie. Walking in the living room with her daughter's birthday cake, Kate knew that whatever happened to her or Rick, their daughter would be fine no matter what, she had enough good people to take care of her.

**THE END**


End file.
